First a little story:
Once upon a time a little girl had parents who owned and ran a landscape gardening business. They had LOTS of books about plants and pests and soil from all around the world. The little girl liked to read the books A LOT – particularly the ones with pretty photos. Her favourite book of all though was the one her mummy bought her. As she got older the words on the cover became decipherable ‘The Canberra Gardener’ it was called. Nowadays that little girl is all grown up, she works in a bookshop – surrounded by her favourite things – books of course! Through all her travels and her many share houses ‘The Canberra Gardener’ has remained a constant beacon of hope – hope for a garden wonderland all of her own!
True story. The Canberra Gardener has been part of my life for longer than I can remember and let me just say – it gets better every edition!
Canberra and its wonderful/awful/strange climate presents many very particular challenges for the green thumb wishing to get amongst their very own oasis.
The Horticulture Society of Canberra presents a beautiful book, broken down into helpful sections including The Kitchen Garden, The Water Conscious Gardener and a month by month breakdown of what to do if you’d rather fancy doing it yourself rather than paying one of the many gardeners in the Canberra region! (though if you just like having informed conversations with your gardener then this book is a sure fire way to top up on knowhow fast!).
It contains region relevant information, a blow by blow on what plants to plant, when and where and how to become an organic green thumb! Tips on weather, pest control and a beautiful section on Designing Your Garden, really The Canberra Gardener is a wonderful inspiration.
Smiths Alternative Bookshop sold out our last run… But new copies arrived TODAY. Pick one up and mention this article for a free coffee. Mmmm. Coffee and garden dreams… What could be better?
The Canberra Gardener
By The Horticultural Society of Canberra
$27.95